McPhee Says “I Don’t Anticipate” Naming A Head Coach Before Draft

Related Tags:

Capitals General Manager George McPhee spoke to the media today about the coaching search, personnel decisions and the upcoming NHL Draft as the Caps have the 11th and 16th picks in the draft which starts Friday in Pittsburgh.

McPhee said “I don’t anticipate” naming a head coach before the NHL Draft. McPhee also said, “Not sure. Probably not, but we’ll see” on if assistant coaches Dean Evason and Jim Johnson will be back with the team next season.

McPhee said they haven’t made a decision yet on unrestricted free agents Alexander Semin and Dennis Wideman, but also confirmed Mike Knuble and Jeff Halpern would not be returning to the team.

McPhee added that Mike Knuble should be in the “good guy hall-of-fame”.

Also McPhee said the Caps have sent qualifying offers to the Caps four restricted free agents, Mike Green, John Carlson, Jay Beagle and Mathieu Perreault.

On the draft, in which the Caps own the 11th (from Colorado in the Varlamov trade) and 16th picks in the first round, McPhee says that he believes it’s deeper than last year’s draft and that “it’s a pretty good draft”. Also the Caps will decide tonight or tomorrow morning on if they will take Colorado’s second round pick through Boston (54th overall) this season or Colorado’s second round pick next season, also received in the Varlamov trade. The deadline to make that decision is tomorrow.